This is the first seedling to truly break ground in my new routine.
Since November 23, 2025, I have committed to a singular goal: reading every day. The first vessel for this journey was Drive by Daniel Pink. As of December 18, 2025, I have turned its final page.
The Confession
This is not a book summary. I have no interest in condensing chapters; rather, I want to distill a few lessons from the experience itself. I must offer a confession: this process was a struggle. It was painful. There were moments where I drifted into the fog, my mind wandering to a dozen other places, forcing me to re-read passages just to anchor my focus.
But that does not matter. This is my first attempt at forging a habit, and I accept the friction.
I have now moved on to Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto. I am tracking these small victories on my habits page. My current objective is stripped of vanity metrics: I have no page counts, no time clocks. My only mandate is to read.
Lessons from Drive
Let’s speak of Drive. The text dissects the archaic machinery of human motivation. It argues that the levers we have relied on for centuries—rewards and punishments—are rusted and ineffective in the modern world. The "carrot and stick" approach, the reliance on external stimuli like money or fear, often fails to produce the spark we expect.
Instead, the book suggests that true momentum is internal. It posits that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are the real engines of drive. When I reflect on my own experiences—specifically the hours I have poured into building this digital garden—I see the truth in this. When I work with volition, when I feel the edges of my skill sharpening, the fatigue vanishes.
Result
The reading experience itself wasn't entirely gripping for me, though perhaps that weight came from the rust on my own attention span after such a long hiatus. Yet, this book carries a significance beyond its text. It is the first concrete, completed artifact of the "transformation" I wrote about previously.
For anyone seeking to understand the mechanics of their own will, it offers valuable blueprints.
Checking soil...